Meanwhile, after lunch, Ning Yuan took a green taxi to Sai Yeung Choi Street in Mong Kok.
The cries of street vendors, the sounds of cooking in tea restaurants, and the shouts from mahjong parlors mingled together.
After paying the fare, she pulled her red wool coat tighter around her and strode into an old antique shop on the street.
As soon as she stepped into the store, a strange smell, a mixture of sandalwood and musty, hit her nose, and Ning Yuan couldn't help but frown.
The store was dimly lit, and the shelves were filled with a dazzling array of antique porcelain, jade, and calligraphy and paintings, yet it exuded an indescribable eerie atmosphere.
A thin, short, bald old man with thinning hair was sitting behind the counter. He looked just like a gnome from a fairy tale, holding a magnifying glass in his hand and carefully examining a porcelain vase.
Opposite him, a middle-aged man of medium build wearing a black leather jacket was impatiently tapping his fingers, seemingly urging the old man to hurry up.
"Fourth Uncle, do you want it or not? This is a treasure I went through a lot of trouble to get from the mainland. If it weren't for the fact that you're a regular customer, I wouldn't have been willing to take it out!" The middle-aged man's respectful tone carried a hint of boasting.
The old man slowly put down the magnifying glass, glanced at the middle-aged man, and said, "What's the rush? I didn't say I wasn't going to buy it. Are you in such a hurry to be reincarnated?"
The middle-aged man was speechless, choked by the old man's words, and could only laugh awkwardly: "Hehe, boss, you're joking. I just want to sell the goods as soon as possible so I can go back for the New Year."
"Fourth Uncle, I'm here," Ning Yuan called out to the inner room.
Hearing Ning Yuan's voice, the bald old man impatiently raised his head, a hint of displeasure flashing in his cloudy eyes, as if he had seen a plague: "You brat, you actually came? Didn't I tell you not to come? What a nuisance!"
Ning Yuan wasn't annoyed. She smiled and took out a HK$3,000 check from her bag and placed it in front of him: "Fourth Uncle, I'm personally delivering the lawyer's fee for helping me review the documents, since I asked you to help me find a lawyer before."
The old man's expression softened slightly, but he still looked impatient. He pointed to the inner room and said, "Alright, alright, leave the money here. Let the people go in and wait. I hate dealing with people like you from high society. I find you repulsive."
Although Ning Yuan was inwardly complaining, she still obediently went into the inner room.
While sitting idly waiting, Ning Yuan glanced at the bottle that the old man and the middle-aged man were trading.
When she was in mainland China, she followed Uncle Nine to many antique markets to raise her first pot of gold, which honed her keen eye for antiques.
As a result, she immediately noticed the blue-glazed white dragon-patterned plum vase in the other person's hand...
“Wait, this vase…” Ning Yuan pointed at the plum vase, her brows furrowing slightly, “How come there’s an identical Yuan Dynasty blue-glazed plum vase with a white dragon design here?”
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man immediately became displeased and pointed at Ning Yuan's nose, scolding, "You little girl, watch your mouth! What do you mean by 'exactly the same'? What do you mean? This is a treasure I went through a lot of trouble to get from the mainland. There's only one of these, and it's extremely rare. Don't you understand?"
Ning Yuan ignored his dissatisfaction, quickly walked up to the man, and carefully examined the plum vase.
The entire plum vase is covered with a deep blue glaze, while the dragon and pearl motifs are covered with a bluish-white glaze. The glazes are deep and lustrous.
The bottle depicts a dragon chasing a flaming orb, set against four flame-shaped cloud patterns resembling floating coral branches.
The dragon is majestic, powerful, and fierce, soaring through the vast blue sky with an air of dominance.
Ning Yuan didn't respond to his words, her gaze fixed on the plum vase, especially the inscription on the bottom of the vase.
She turned around, her clear black and white eyes staring directly at the middle-aged man, her tone scrutinizing: "You said you brought it from the mainland, which province? Which city? From whom did you get it?"
The middle-aged man felt uneasy under Ning Yuan's gaze and retorted, "Where I got it is none of your business! Who do you think you are? Why should I tell you?"
"Your collecting and selling antiques is none of my business," Ning Yuan said calmly, but with an undeniable air of authority.
“But you’re using a fake to swindle people, and you even dare to bring it to Fourth Uncle’s place. I can’t just ignore this.”
"You're talking nonsense!" The middle-aged man instantly bristled, slamming his fist on the table and about to charge forward—
"You brat, watch your mouth! Who are you calling a counterfeit seller? Do you even know anything about antiques?!"
Just as the middle-aged man was about to attack Ning Yuan, Fourth Uncle suddenly spoke up.
He narrowed his shrewd eyes, his tone calm yet carrying a chilling sense of oppression: "Aki, hitting women is not a good habit, especially with me."
After being warned by his fourth uncle, Aki deflated like a punctured balloon and could only reluctantly withdraw his hand.
He glared fiercely at Ning Yuan, but dared not make any further moves.
"You Hundred-Turned-Ghost, you say this bottle is fake? Then tell me, how is it fake?"
Fourth Uncle fiddled with the magnifying glass in his hand again, a shrewd glint in his cloudy eyes.
"This Yuan Dynasty plum vase features dragons with their heads and tails connected, baring their fangs and claws, as if they are soaring and swimming. The blue glaze is used to decorate the dragon's eyes, achieving the artistic effect of adding the finishing touch to a dragon's appearance. The glaze color and the seal on the bottom of the vase are all consistent with the characteristics of a genuine piece. What makes you say it's fake?" Uncle Si questioned.
In particular, the dragon pattern is decorated with fire pearl patterns and flowing cloud patterns above and below, which makes the atmosphere of flying in the air more prominent. The whole picture is well-balanced in terms of density and sparseness, and the brushstrokes are smooth and natural.
"Just because I acquired this vase two years ago, I almost got killed over it back then," Ning Yuan said calmly.
“This Yuan Dynasty plum vase is extremely rare, very few exist. Most of them were broken by craftsmen if they weren't made well. There are probably no more than three in existence. What are the chances that you'd find a second one? And look closely, the seal on the bottom is completely wrong. I've seen genuine pieces, and this one is different. The most crucial thing is…”
She paused, then looked at her fourth uncle: "Fourth uncle, I met Uncle Liu, who collects plum vases, through a misunderstanding. He introduced me to Uncle Fang. You can ask him if you don't believe me."
The middle-aged man turned pale with fright at Ning Yuan's words, and began to stammer, "You...you're talking nonsense! I...I'm telling the truth, how could this be..."
Fourth Uncle stared at Aki with eyes as sharp as a hawk's, his tone horribly gloomy: "Aki, you know the consequences of lying to me."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the shop door slammed shut with a "bang".
Several burly men suddenly appeared out of nowhere and surrounded Ah Ji.
Seeing this, Aki knelt down with a thud, kowtowed three times to his fourth uncle, and begged for mercy with a mournful face—
"Fourth Uncle, I was wrong! I will never do it again! I... I was forced to do it! My elderly mother is seriously ill, my child needs to go to school, and we really can't afford to eat. I..." He cried and complained about his "difficult situation" with snot and tears streaming down his face.
"Aki, what do you take me for? You think you can mess with me?" Uncle Four slammed the magnifying glass on the table, the lens hitting the mahogany surface with a piercing sound.
His cloudy old eyes were now incredibly gloomy.
"Drag him out!" Uncle Si ordered, and several burly men appeared out of nowhere, dragging the middle-aged man away like a chick. His pig-like screams echoed in the air.
Ning Yuan watched coldly from the sidelines, showing not a shred of sympathy for the middle-aged man's plight.
She spoke slowly, "Fourth Uncle, you still have such a temper."
Fourth Uncle glanced at her sideways and said irritably, "You rascal, you have no compassion at all. You're so young and already so cold-blooded. No wonder Old Fang and Ninth Brother like you."
“Because I understand the rules of the trade, and I hope that Fourth Uncle will like me,” Ning Yuan said with a smile, seemingly unaffected by his words.
She stepped forward and expertly poured him a cup of tea, saying, "Please calm down and have some tea."
"Baiyan Gui" is a Cantonese term used by elders to describe a naughty or mischievous child, indicating that Uncle Si didn't really dislike her that much.
The old man snorted coldly, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then said, "The fact that I like your money is already giving you face. Don't try to use the same tricks you used on Lao Fang and his gang on me. I won't fall for that."
Ning Yuan wasn't angry. She smiled and said, "Okay, now that you know why I'm here, can you help me? The price is negotiable."
The old man put down his teacup and said irritably—
“I can send someone to Aberdeen to keep an eye on things. I don’t know what you’re planning to do, but the person I can introduce you to is from the mainland, very capable, and has been in Aberdeen for a while. You two can talk it over.”
As he spoke, he clapped his hands. A moment later, a figure emerged from the inner room.
Ning Yuan's smiling face froze instantly. She stared wide-eyed in disbelief and blurted out, "How could it be you?! Weren't you in jail?"
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